A newly installed upgrade of the STAR detector at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) gives nuclear physicists more particle tracks than ever to gain insight into the building blocks of matter and the force that bound them to form the visible matter of our world.

Researchers from Xavier University used neutrons at ORNL’s High Flux Isotope Reactor to observe how plants communicate via underground networks of fungal hyphae. Insights gained could lead to improved agricultural applications that enable farmers to tactically introduce pesticides into an environment so that unwanted weeds are destroyed while valuable crops remain unharmed.

ORNL story tips: Using ORNL’s Summit supercomputer, scientists created some of the largest virtual universes; plant-based, super-sticky material proves stickier than mussels; method to 3D print big components with metal could promise low-cost, high-quality builds with less waste; simulated small modular reactors on Summit ran more efficiently than expected.

An international team of scientists, including researchers from the University of California San Diego, observed radioactive decay that is the rarest process ever observed in a detector and the slowest ever directly measured.